One of the knocks on former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning was his propensity to “check down” and throw shorter passes rather than take shots down the field.
A recent study by the website Pro Football Focus verified this with statistics. Manning checked down 72 times on 759 attempts (9.5%) over his final two seasons in blue. That was the sixth-highest average in the NFL over that period.
The leader in check downs was Blake Bortles (Jacksonville) followed by Mason Rudolph (Pittsburgh), Derek Carr (Oakland), Gardner Minshew (Jacksonville) and Philip Rivers (L.A. Chargers).
There are reasons why all of these quarterbacks checked down. They either have a short-passing offensive philosophy or lack the deep threats to push the ball downfield.
In Manning’s case, it was both of those plus the presence of running back Saquon Barkley, who is a top receiving option. Manning also checked down many times due to pressure. The Giants’ offensive line was not the best in pass protection and with Manning’s limited ability to extend plays, he was forced to get rid of the football much sooner than he wanted to.
The study also shows that Manning was tied with Minshew for first in the league in third-down check downs (10.9%), the only difference in the two being Minshew was a rookie and Manning a 15-year veteran.
The switch to rookie Daniel Jones last year was a refreshing change for the Giants in this category. Jones has much more escapability than Manning and can extend plays (although many times Giant fans wish he wouldn’t have).
Jones had one of the lowest check down rates in the NFL — just 21 times on 493 attempts (4.3%). With a new offensive coordinator in Jason Garrett, Jones is expected to take a leap in Year 2, but whether or not he’ll be asked to check down more (or be forced to) is still to be determined.
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